Thursday, June 25, 2009

We had some incredibly hot weather yesterday - a welcome change for the locals as this has been a wet spring and start to summer here.

Pictures are again out of order - not broken but not n the order I took them in. Click on any to enlarge.

To cool off, we had some ice cream. Mom and I ingested ours but GeorgianBayAlex choose to apply his as a salve. Perhaps he was uncertain about the name of the beach: Balm probably refers to the cool water more than the ice cream available nearby.

Mom and the little guy at the edge of the public beach.

The beach was nice although some kids nearby had a very limited vocabulary -there's more than one adjective available.

There was a lot of pollen in the water.

There is also controversy at the beach. In Canada, property owners can only own land to the high water mark of a lake. Practically, that means anyone can walk along a shore. That would be fine except that beachgoers ocassionally leave trash behind - less often, I think, thanvisitors to Sokcho Beach, but frequently enough.

This cottager has put up a fence that actually extends to into the water to deter walkers. You might be able to see burn marks on the fence, which has also been attacked with chainsaws and police are frequently called to the scene.

GeorgianbayAlex and I made it here safely after a very long day - June 23 was around 35 hours for us. There little guy slept through the flight which was good but meant he had lots of energy through the night at his grandmother's home.

He slept six hours today but is now in bed again - I should go soon so I can be n sync with him -that's more important than being in sync with Ontario time.

Anyway, this evening we walked along the harbour and waterfront. I like this boat.

This morning, these birds seemed glued to their tree. We walked repeatedly to within a metre and a half of them and I held my camera closer. Behind the birds is the window to my bedroom.posted by GeorgianBayBrian

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Mr. Bliss, if you wanted to visit my swimming spot, here are the directions (and anyone else, I guess).

Take bus # 1,7, or 9 - but not 1-1, 7-1 or 9-1. Get off at the harbour, turn left at the intersection. You could go straight for a more scenic route, but turning left is a little shorter.

Turn right here (the brown sign is for the lighthouse).Here is it. I like to swim around the rocks - and there are more further from shore -but also to jump off them.There is some bad news, though. The water seemed clear yesterday, but I don't know if the barges will churn up the bottom with their dredging. I also don't know why they are dredging here.Previous posts on swimming there here.

I wonder if this has to do with high price of Korean rice. In the past, Korean rice was priced around eight times higher than imported rice. The imports, however, paid a tariff, so the cost to the consumer was equivalent. I don't know if this is still the case.

I might have another post or two before I go, but this issue of pricing has inspired me to do some investigative journalism. Tomorrow, I will go to Canada, with a list of Korean food prices - rice, veggies, ... and compare them to those in Canada. I might do a few other things while I am there. Expect a few posts from 'GeorgianBayBrian' in the next month but I warn you of light blogging ahead.

I like the idea of commuting in the subway with my bike, especially as described in the Korea Times. It's neat and tidy with no crowding or unpleasant mess.

Subway train for bicyclers: Mountain bike riders take their bicycles inside a special carriage of a subway train running from Seongbuk Station in eastern Seoul to Dongducheonjungang Station in Gyeonggi Province Sunday. Korail has test-ran the carriage for the convenience of bike-loving passengers who want to go cycling in the suburban area of Dongducheon. / Yonhap

Real cycling can be like this, but many times is not.I don't want to to reinforce the stereotype of roadbikers against mountain bikers, but I am under the impression that many mountain cyclists onlyconsider a ride to have been a good one if theyfinish covered in mud. I, myself, stored mybike in a hotel room during my cross-Canadatrip and left a mess from dripping oil and mud behind.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Books aren't just for reading, you know. I built a little apartment building for his dinosaurs to live in last night. It was fun to build, fun to look at and lots of fun to knock down. It's also fun to build ever taller ones.

I guess we'll be going outside with a wheel-barrel for the next one. And a lightning rod to deflect the bolts sure to come against our presumption.

Via the Joongang, I learned about Sycoline, a Korean company that makes bikes with automatic transmission that offer "continuous infinite gear change". All I saw on their website was an 'all mountain' bike but I love the concept.

Friday, June 19, 2009

The Seoral International Triathlon (which doesn't actually take place in Seorak National Park) is scheduled for June 28. The website is here. The banner went up today but the deadline for entries was a week ago.

I'll be away when it takes place so I don't feel,"dang! I should have trained and entered it." the way I usually do.

Government officials in bozeman, Montana are requiring job applicants, on their application, not merely to list their social networking sites, but also their passwords.

“Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.,” the City form states. There are then three lines where applicants can list the Web sites, their user names and log-in information and their passwords.

I have been somewhat careful to speak well or neutrally about my workplace and seldom mention it by name at all. This blog is not found by searching for me by name.

I think I would be comfortable with an employer or prospective employer reading this blog, but I would have to think about it before posting it on my resume, for example.

Facebook is another story, and especially with my password. With my password, you can visit the pages of all my friends so it isn't even my privacy I would be concerned about. Although I would be concerned about that as well. Readers of this blog and visitors to my Facebook profile can easily see my thoughts on religion, although no student learns of them except occasionally after a direct question.

This is a serious question on my part. I think that some time ago, a group or groups decided to publicly boycott various products - because the ads were on a controversial TV show?

I know that truth is no defense against libel - Product A isn't as good as product B, even if true, is an actionable statement.

Putting these together, I don't know if the people who urged boycotts -and may now face charges, or the makers of the boycotted products or the advertisers of those products are the 'victims'. I think boycotting a product would financially affect the makers of that product, but that boycotts are a legitimate form of protest.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Seoul isn't so bad. I lived on the slopes of Mount Gwanak for a year and enjoyed hiking the mountain once a week so I could get some kind of nature fix.

On the other hand, the crowds really got to me. I don't like even Sokcho's E-mart on Saturday afternoons and all Seoul is like that all the time.

I prefer Sokcho and can always visit Seoul once in a while.

One of the few things that could change my mind has appeared in the Herald (the link looks good but that's never certain with the Herald - excerpt below). Turns out, there are several libraries with English books in Seoul.

Excerpts:

Jeongdok Public Library

At the Jeongdok Public Library there are a little more than 4,500 books in foreign languages, nearly 3,800 of which are non-fiction, and all of which may be taken out of the library's facilities.

The library has 25 different magazine titles available for foreign visitors, including Time, Newsweek, Reader's Digest and National Geographic.

...

Namsan Library of Korea

The Namsan Library has a little more than 12,000 books in English, and more than 1,300 of among them have been purchased since 2007.

All registered members of the library can borrow books here. To register, an alien registration card is required for expats.

...

National Assembly Library

The official library of Korea's National Assembly offers about 263,680 non-fiction selections, plus about 2,000 fiction publications in English....To get there, take subway Line 5 to Yeouido Station, leaving through Exit No. 2.

Visit www.nanet.go.kr/english for more information.

There were one or two other libraries listed as well. I know a continuing education library in Sokcho has children's books in English. I wonder about other libraries locally. Kwandong University's library has a (relatively) large, and varied, selection of English books, all thirty years old and older. I'll try to update this as I find out more.

Monday, June 15, 2009

I'm looking for English information, but haven't found any, yet. The dinghy races start on Thursday and seem to include Lasers (a few different sizes), Hobies, Mistrals and others. I am familiar with Lasers as small, fast boats and Hobies as catamarans. Mistrals seem to be windsurfers. In Korean.

"A total of 60 kilometers of cycle paths will be constructed along 21 streets and roads across the country with an outlay of 24 billion won this year"

I like the idea of bike paths, but I haven't seen many, in Canada or Korea, that are useful for commuters. In Sokcho, there are bikepaths next to the sidewalks but that means cyclists must stop at each traffic-light. I don't mind stopping at red lights, as (most? some?) automobiles do, but to stop at every one really diminishes the point of commuter-cycling: to effortlessly cover moderate distances at good speed.

Perhaps this system will be better. The article does say that federally funded paths will be connected to local paths and

Under the nationwide U-Bike System to be initiated by the government, anyone can rent a bicycle at a non-manned parking station with a bike card, ride and then return the bike to the same or different station, a ministry spokesman explained. The system will also enable riders to transfer to nearby buses and subways.

I like this. This sounds like a great way to connect public transit with commuter cycling. I think the concept has been tested in the Netherlands and other European countries and I hope it works here. I would love to take a bus to Gangneung and hop on a bike at the bus terminal to go the last few kilometres to work.

My old computer came with Microsoft Movie Maker but it didn't have the power to handle video - I could organize stills and add narration, but couldn't edit video. Luckily, I found jumpcut online and was able to edit video there. Well, it closes today (which is why, in addition to laziness, I am not going to bother linking).

Previously, Jumpcut didn't allow you to download the video you made, although you could export them to blogs and such. Well, a few old blog posts will now have holes in them.

Now, as the service closes, they are enabling downloads. I may plug those old holes or just place them in current posts so everyone can enjoy them again.

Here, is my son, age one and a half, dancing to the very quiet drums at Naksan Temple.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

I learned that the 20km course follows a route that is only opened twice a year. It is really tough but also, because it is available so seldom, it is very crowded.

We did the 5 km course and it was long enough considering I carried my little guy at least one km. We did the walk with the four Domestic Blisses and I notice that not one of these photos has Mrs Bliss in it.

On the way to the start, from the bus, we saw a deer running in the dry riverbed. We didn't see many other animals but, thanks to the clear air, the scenery was sharp and the horizons distant. I am sure the adults had fun, but the walk was mostly about the kids, who had fun during these photos at least.

Exams finished yesterday and I expect evaluations to start coming in. The students evaluate me according to 15 criteria and can leave comments if they choose. The evaluation is entirely anonymous and students must either evaluate me or agree to give up the chance to do so before seeing their grades.

Some students have jumped the gun. Ten students in seven classes have already posted their evaluations. Some are great; in one first year class, two students both gave me 100% and one left a kindly but poorly spelled comment:

"브라이언딘 교수님 즐거웠고 2학기에도 브라운딘 교수님 이랍니다"

which translates to, "Bra slang [tin] professor to be joyful the brown [tin] professor [lap] is the [ni] in as much as 2 semester"

I honestly love the way the student spelled my name correctly once; it reminds me of essays where I had to write the word (pre-spellcheck days) "height" more than once. I would write it 'ei' one time and 'ie' the next. One of them had to be right.

Also, I love the way my name is slang for 'Bra'. I guess I shouldn't chuckle when I read the names "Yoo-seok" or "beom-seok".

That isn't the reason I titled this post 'ouch' though. One student gave me 20% across the board. This was a nursing student who also wrote a short evaluation in class. Those evals were mostly positive although reports are I spoke too fast in class. I don't know who the student is, and I don't want to know, but I am hurt by such an evaluation. Especially when items I am responsible for are ranked the same as ones I do not control. "follows a clear class and course plan" which I control and "kept the full 15 week schedule" which is totally out of my control: both were rated at 20% Also, the nursing students have a high enough English ability to leave a detailed English comment and this one didn't. It is just a drive-by snark, but it hurts all the same.

42 years ago the court case Loving v. Virginia decided that Americans could marry who they chose, regardless of race. 47 days later I was born. Somewhat more than eight years ago, I married a wonderful woman who happened to be Korean. Although not American, I am sure that court decision helped pave the way for the way I feel accepted today.

I'm torn on the issue. Certainly in the past, hydro-electric dams were the cleanest possible method of electrical generation. Nowadays, as they are perhaps less necessary, the problems, known, but minor compared to the other options, are becoming more onerous.

In the article linked above, dams interfere with salmon runs. That isn't such an issue here as, in Yangyang at least, salmon are collected as they enter the river and spawn in tanks at the hatchery.

Still, I am cautious about accepting President Bak's assurances regarding plans for the rivers after his trans-Korea canal scheme that was stopped.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

I registered for the walking festival this morning. The website was hard to follow so I went to a Tourist Information booth and the attendent there, after a few long phone calls, determined that foreigners don't need to pay the 5,000 won entry fee. To register, I gave the attendent my name and phone number - much better than the formal registration that asked for my home address, email, phone number, age, gender, and more.

KwandongAlex and I will do the five km route starting at 10AM on Saturday. It starts at Seorak Park Hotel, near the main Seorak office and more or less two km from the main entrance. I expect we will be joined by the Domestic Blisses.

This evening I found a poster at the apartment lobby for a series of 'marathons' in Gangwond0 (and possibly elsewhere - I didn't study the poster too closely). Sokcho's run, seven km around Youngnang Lake, is also scheduled for this Saturday, starting at 9:00 AM. The poster included a website, but it is just the general one for the Gangwon Ilbo* (the provincial newspaper) and not specifically for the run.

I notice that the run will be held on different days in different cities. Perhaps I can do a similar run next weekend.

I don't know if the Gangwon Ilbo is simply sponsoring a run for health and advertising purposes or if the events are for something else. Both the run and the walking festival carry "Pyeongchang Olympic bid 2018" promotions.

-----------------

*I am currently using the Windows side of my computer and google's Chrome browser. When I looked at Gangwon Ilbo's website in Chrome, a list buttons for regions appeared right in the middle of the page obscuring much of the text. In Explorer, it is comfortably on the right side.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

The Korea Nude Photography Association and the Kangwon Ilbo are offering some sort of nude photo session at Sokcho Beach this Sunday morning. come to Sokcho for the walk on Saturday and get an eyeful before you go home the next day.

I am well-familiar with the Dae-gwallyeong wind farm and towers above Gangneung. In an article in the Herald (Sorry, I forgot about the Herald and linking - there used to be a workaround for Firefox, but I don't know about Safari- It is in the June 9, 2009 edition, found by searching for Gangwon and Toshinori Shigeie), Ambassador Toshinori Shigeie, describes another Gangwon wind farm, this one in the central Hoengseong district.

In November 2008, Taegisan Wind Farm was completed in Gangwon Province by the joint initiative of Japanese Eurus Energy Group and POSCO construction. Taegisan Wind Farm has 20 wind turbines, each rated at 2MW, with their mounting towers implanted on the ridge of Mount Taegi 1,260 meters above sea level, and is one of the largest wind farms in Korea.

The article is mostly a PR piece about Japan's efforts in reducing pollution, but it's still interesting.

Taegisan Wind Farm (total output: 40MW) was completed in Gangwon Province, South Korea by the joint effort of Eurus Energy Group and POSCO, a leading engineering and construction corporation and was inaugurated at site on November 26.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by some 250 people concerned, including Mr. Kim Jinsun, Governor of Gangwon Province, and Mr. Toshinori Shigeie, Ambassador of Japan to South Korea, who were greeted by a forest of white wind turbine masts towering high in the clear sky.

Gangwon Province is one of the most favorite sightseeing areas in the northeastern part of South Korea, and is highly cherished for the grandeur and pristine beauty of its natural environment. It is expected to be the arena for the Winter Olympics in the future. Taegisan Wind Farm has 20 wind turbines, each rated at 2MW, with their mounting towers implanted on the ridge of Mount Taegi 1,260m above sea level, and is one of the largest wind farms in South Korea. It is capable of supplying about 25,000 households while cutting down on CO2 emissions by some 60,000 tons a year, and also is expected to become a new destination in the area to attract tourists.

I've found the Seoul podcast to be interesting but, for my taste, too long. considering the length of my commute and such (for me, up to 45 minutes is good; an hour and forty-five minutes, not so good).

Their most recent 'cast was about swine flu and has stirred up a (I was going to say 'hornet's nest' but, let's face it, Korean blogging isn't that big a deal) tempest in a teacup.

Oh, Kimchi Icecream, I presume, is a listener, Stafford is one of the podcast personalities and Brian was an interview subject. The cause of the hullabaloo is a cold call they made during the 'cast. Did they reveal too many personal details? Humiliate the person called? I may have to listen to this one.

Monday, June 08, 2009

Coming up on five years at Blogger, soon I hope to learn how to put my photos in order.

On Saturday, the little guy and I went to a pension owned by a coworker for a staff party. We had a great time and, although this was the first pension I had visited, I really recommend it (Sumbi pension).

We've got to get the little guy a pet. He loved the many animals at the pension.

The one, literal, blot on the landscape is the big-ass cement factory.I will have to ask coworkers for permission to post their photos, but this one of ESL prof/yoga master Jenna might be good promotion for her.Our host expected more children at the party and prepared a treasure hunt. As my little guy was the only little guy, he found lots of presents. I'm not sure, but perhaps the whole game-ploy was to let the others chat and relax without me bothering them.

"Yeah, KwandongBrian, you and your son look for toys for a few hours. Have fun", snicker.

We did have fun, in part because neither I nor the people who made the clues had been to the pension before so many places were described haphazardly. He collected enough toys that when it was time to go to bed, he asked me if it was his birthday. You'd think it was, especially with the great cake.We all had a great time and I may post more pics after asking permission.

Friday, June 05, 2009

I'm an early-to-bed kind of guy and I have a son who is early-to-rise so parties aren't as thrilling for me as they used to be.

That might be why I hadn't hear about the June 6th Sokcho Beach Apocalypse party. Apparently, it is being advertised on Facebook but I couldn't find it. I will be in Donghae for a staff party so I'm going to miss the excitement here - I wonder if Kwandongwife, who will be on duty at the coast Guard office, will be called in to translate for the police.

updated

When: June 6, 2009 or 6/6/9What: Beach Blanket Apocalypse (BYOBlankets and Beer)Where: Sokcho BeachWho: Every single sweetheart in South Korea and their cousins, brothers, and mothers Host: Ryan Scott and Toni DuckworthNOTE: You may also bring your own tent and sleeping bags and set up during the day. But please NO GLASS.

Description

The day starts with a trip to Hwanjipo beach and spans the next 4 beaches south to Sokcho. Each beach will deserve a bottle of soju being shot off in its honor as we make our way down. Each little beach villiage has a bus stop, and the total cost to Sockho will be 3,000 won. Once we reach Sokcho beach it will be time to go all out and I hope you enjoy the night wherever it takes you!

I hope I am not breaking any Facebook rules pasting their material here.

I met my wife and son at a bus stop yesterday and while waiting for them, I found these two girls studying a ladybug. I asked them their ages and the first girl held up one finger and said "Ney Sal" (four), while the other girl managed to hold up four fingers.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

I don't know what the point of Hyunsan festival is. It could be a local analog of Dano, or something completely different.

Once again, the photos are jumbled.

This morning I took KwandongAlex to Yangyang to meet a coworker and tour the festival. One of the last things we saw was a Shaman ritual.

In addition to the festival, today is market day at the "Oh-il Jang" (Five day market - held once every five days - on days ending in 4 or 9), so there was much to see.

The product seemed to be a metal cleaner. Whatever it did, it's ingredients were interesting as all heck. Ants, sea horses, centipedes, and a white snake pickled with ginseng were on display.

To reinforce a point Marmot's Hole blogger Elgin (most recently here) consistently makes, Koreans don't seem to really understand how pesticides work. This gentleman probably thinks he is helping people as he sprays his poison. Before I shot him here, he had just sprayed a donut maker's wares - mmm, pesticide donut.

At the Naksan Temple booth, I let the staff stick burning stuff on my hand in an effort to relieve pain in my elbow. This process, which I thought was a kind of hand-acupuncture (Son Ji-chim), was named by the staff as sook-ddeum. Sook is the Korean version of wormwood or absinthe and I have fallen under it's evil influence in the past.

I notice no difference in my elbow, by the way.Returning to a market photo, these were on display at the antique dealer's tent. Sex and violence are close together even at the market.

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

The little guy is just shy of his fourth birthday -by my reckoning; here, he has been five for several months - and suddenly loves reading numbers. Walking through a parking lot, with all those license plates, is an ordeal now.

For the record, this started a few weeks ago, perhaps at 3 years ten months, or a little later.

It reminds me of when I first learned to pronounce Hangeul. I was an adult at the time, so I remember it clearly. After a month in Korea, I could reliably struggle through a word or short sentence. Riding the bus home in the evening was exhausting because I found myself trying to read each sign we passed - and street signs are horribly thick here - but almost never finishing before we had passed it. Obsessively on to the next one. And the next one...

Monday, June 01, 2009

I enjoyed my temple stay five, wow - five, years ago at Naksan Temple. Since then, of course, large portions were burnt in a forest fire. The temple looks good now, but no longer hosts temple stays.

In Gangwon Province you can stay at Baekdamsa, which might be a little closer to Seoul and is newsworthy in it's own right.

Many years ago, an ex-president (Chun Doo-hwan) was charged with corruption and took a sort of coward's way out - he sought asylum at Baekdam Temple until people calmed down. This story has no current significance, by the way.

Read about other temples offering overnight stays in the Korea Herald. Read about my temple stay here. GI Korea also visited the temple.

UPDATING my update: Naksan does offer Temple Stays. I will try to find contact information as I have misplaced the info I was given.